Mr. Ge cried out loud: "Mr. Luo, I have wronged you! It was my fault that harmed Mrs. Luo. If I hadn’t mentioned you went to the bookstore, she wouldn’t have taken that route. I’m sorry, I really am!"
After saying this, Mr. Ge took a deep breath and fainted.
Minister Cao immediately signaled the servants with his eyes to carry him out.
Luo Jun quietly watched Liu Tao lying on the ground, wrapped in a white cloth, without speaking, with little expression, seemingly contemplating something.
Minister Cao tactfully signaled with his eyes again for everyone to leave the room, giving Luo Jun enough time and space to calm down and accept reality. The maid helped Mrs. Cao, who was still crying and stumbling, out of the room. Just as Mrs. Cao, with her hobbling steps, was about to reach the door, Luo Jun spoke.
"Is there a good feng shui burial site around here?"
Minister Cao was taken aback, and then replied, "Yes, definitely. I know a famous feng shui master who can certainly find a good one."
Luo Jun nodded: "That will do. Find a good site and bury her in the next couple of days."
Luo Jun’s calm tone surprised everyone in the room. Even the maid supporting Mrs. Cao glimpsed at Luo Jun in disbelief, finding it hard to accept that there could be such an unfeeling husband in the world, speaking so lightly with his wife’s body right before him.
Luo Jun took an egg out of his pocket and placed it on the antique shelf.
"Can butterflies eat eggs?" Luo Jun asked.
Minister Cao’s eyes widened in shock, doubting whether Luo Jun had lost his mind due to overwhelming grief.
While Luo Jun remained composed, Mrs. Cao erupted.
"Luo, are you even human!" Mrs. Cao shouted furiously at Luo Jun. "Even if Liu Tao didn’t have children, she was still your legitimate wife! Your wife has died, and not only haven’t you shed a single tear, you don’t even show a hint of sadness, yet you have the mind to wonder if a butterfly can eat eggs."
"She worried herself to death for you, going out looking for you and getting killed, but you wouldn’t even put on a facade, show her any dignity in the end. You’re finding a burial site to bury her in just a few days, you’re simply a beast..."
"Hurry and take the madam out!" Minister Cao roared, his shout drowning out Mrs. Cao’s final words, then turned to Luo Jun with an apologetic smile. "Mr. Luo, I’m truly sorry, my wife is too heartbroken and misspoke out of grief."
"I understand," Luo Jun said, "But does she not wish to be a butterfly?"
Minister Cao thought perhaps Luo Jun really had gone mad.
Liu Tao’s funeral was arranged with the help of Minister Cao and Mr. Ge, perhaps because of Mr. Ge’s anxiety about Luo Jun blaming him and wanting to make amends, he organized the grandest funeral in the shortest time.
Not only did they prepare an excellent coffin, but they also hired a feng shui master to select an auspicious spot in a very remote, uninhabited place, reputed to be a good location.
Luo Jun bought all the land in that area and had a house built there.
After that, the memories for Qin Huai felt like a movie with time accelerated.
Time passed incredibly fast, a day went by in the blink of an eye.
It might be because that stretch of plot was very long and dull, as Luo Jun built a small house by Liu Tao’s grave and lived there, reading newspapers and books in front of Liu Tao’s grave daily by moving a chair there.
At first, many people came to find Luo Jun in that place.
Some came to seek his help, some for advice, some to discuss business deals, and many came to introduce him to a new wife.
Luo Jun ignored them all, just sat in front of the grave reading his books and newspapers every day.
Gradually, no one came to see him anymore.
Time passed faster, stars shifted, and as the sun rose and set, the trees planted by the grave grew taller and the grass needed regular trimming. Luo Jun had long stopped subscribing to newspapers, merely re-reading those he had already read.
He led a life isolated from time, knowing nothing about the outside world.
Time seemed to stand still for him.
Qin Huai felt as if he was waiting for something every day, but what could he be waiting for?
Waiting for Liu Tao to turn into a butterfly?
But turning into a butterfly is just a tale from Liang Zhu, a drama script.
Finally, on a quiet afternoon, the swiftly flowing time paused as someone visited.
After not seeing her for years, Mrs. Cao had become much more haggard.
She no longer appeared glamorous and wealthy like she did years ago, with no gold or silver jewelry on her, no trace of the pearl necklace she wore every day around her neck, not in a cheongsam but in plain, gray cotton clothing. She even looked thinner, her cheeks slightly sunken, her face lined with wrinkles, looking much older.
"Mr. Luo, long time no see." Mrs. Cao’s temper had improved a lot, she no longer rolled her eyes at people.
"Long time?" Luo Jun evidently had no concept of the passage of time.
Mrs. Cao smiled: "It’s been four or five years, I’m leaving here heading back to my hometown, I wanted to see Liu Tao before leaving."
Luo Jun gestured for her to look as she wished.
"They all say you’ve gone mad." Mrs. Cao said, "They say you got so absorbed in dramas and novels that you lost your mind, living like a lovelorn character from a play, forsaking a rich and prosperous life to stay in this desolate place guarding your deceased wife’s grave."
"Years ago I had careless words, thinking you and my husband, Old Cao, conspired to deceive Liu Tao, saying you were going out for business. I thought you had a mistress outside, urging Liu Tao to have you bring her back to Shanghai to cut ties with some temptress here." Mrs. Cao looked at the tombstone, "Now thinking back, it would have been better to urge Liu Tao to have you bring her back to Shanghai, she might still be alive."